Crystal Dynia
Jane Austen argues in Pride and Prejudice that true happiness can be achieved but not as society defines it. Austen argues furthermore that instead an individual can only find happiness independent of society. Austen shows this through the moral and psychological consequences of relationships,such as between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth and between Mr. Bingley and Jane. Through the relationships between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, between Mr. Wickham and Lydia Bennet, and between Mr. Collins and Charlotte, Austen also shows how an individual who is dependent upon society’s criteria for happiness fails to find happiness.
The relationship between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth is a great example of two individuals finding happiness independent of their society. After Mr. Darcy’s character is revealed to the other characters in the novel as a man engulfed by pride, society looks down on him, despite how wealthy he is. Also, the Bennet family stands on a different level of the social ladder than does the Darcy or Bingley family. The girls of the Darcy and Bingley families want to keep the wealth between the two families, and they don’t think that Elizabeth is fit for Mr. Darcy. However, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth have their own feelings for one another. Despite everyone’s disapproval of the two being together (PP 233), Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth share their mutual feelings of love and affection with one another and are very happy together. They show their happiness and love for one another by getting engaged (PP 238–242). They are both very smart and strong minded individuals with opinions of their own. Although Elizabeth originally lets society influence her opinion of Mr. Darcy, she refutes these opinions after discovering that Darcy is good natured and that he means well (PP 130–135). Ultimately, neither Elizabeth nor Darcy listens to what members of society are saying; instead, they follow their instincts and feelings.
Another example of finding happiness independent of society is the relationship between Mr. Bingley and Jane. The girls of the Bingley and Darcy families try to prevent the union of Mr. Bingley and Jane, just as they do with Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. The girls try to persuade Mr. Bingley that Jane isn’t good enough for him and that she doesn’t care for him in the same way that he cares for her. They try to make Jane look as if she is only after Bingley’s money. However, this is not the case. Jane is really attached to Bingley and enjoys being with him (PP 10). Bingley feels the same way about Jane. After Mr. Darcy confirms to Mr. Bingley that Jane really cares for him, Bingley is overjoyed and begins to court Jane again, and they soon become engaged. They remain happy throughout the time they are together because they follow their feelings for one another, and they do not let anyone else have any influence on their feelings. However, if they had let society influence their decision of whether or not to be together, they would never have gotten married, and they would both probably be very miserable without one another.
In her novel, Austen also shows that individuals who are dependent upon society are unable to find true happiness. Upon marrying Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Bennet thinks that he will be very happy with his wife and that life will be rather good. Mrs. Bennet is beautiful, and because of what society has taught him to value, Mrs. Bennet doesn’t need to be anything else. However, Mr. Bennet quickly becomes unhappy in his marriage because his wife has no depth or character. She is basically an idiot who believes that the only purpose in life is to marry off her daughters and gossip with the neighbors about other people’s business (PP 4). Because of this, the Bennets have an empty and pointless marriage. Mr. Bennet is a very unhappy individual when it comes to his marriage, a marriage, nonetheless, which is approved by society.
Another example that demonstrates how being dependent on society can cause unhappiness is through the relationship between Mr. Wickham and Lydia Bennet. Every character within the novel, with the exceptions of Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth, and Mr. Bingley, believes that Mr. Wickham is a great guy. He is very respectable, handsome, and seemingly affluent. In the eyes of society, he is a great catch, and any girl who would marry him would be very lucky and happy. However, that is not the case. Mr. Wickham is a liar and not as wealthy as people believe. Lydia, like her mother, is very beautiful and interests herself only in gossip and nothing intellectual. She does not know how to think for herself. After Mr.Wickham and Lydia are married, they both grow indifferent to one another and are stuck in an unhappy marriage. Lydia gets something completely different than what she had expected.
The last example Austen gives as proof that being dependent upon society does not lead to happiness is through the relationship between Mr. Collins and Charlotte. The only reason the two marry is because of the influence that the society has on their decisions. Collins is told that he should marry to gain an estate, so that he may have security. After he crudely proposes to Elizabeth, and she rejects his offer, he almost immediately proposes to Charlotte (PP 83). They are not in love, and they do not have much, if anything, in common. After their marriage, Mr. Collins is happy fora ridiculous reason. He is happy because, according to him, getting married is the right thing for a clergyman to do and he has a wife who can admire him, as he explains in his proposal to Elizabeth (PP 72). Charlotte isn’t particularly happy in her marriage. Instead, she is satisfied to simply have a husband. As far as she is concerned, she has done her duty by getting married. To Charlotte, having love in a marriage is just luck; love is not an important factor of marriage. These two do not display happiness in the way that Jane and Mr. Bingley or Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy do. Instead, they are simply married just to be married.
Throughout Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen gives examples of how an individual can find happiness when that individual becomes independent of what society says and stays true to oneself. When following society and the guidelines or criteria that are imposed upon its norms, there is no guarantee that a person will find true happiness. However, if an individual has ideas different from those of society and makes decisions based on those ideas or feelings, then it is more likely that the individual will find happiness. When people follow their heart’s desires, as did Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth and Mr. Bingley and Jane, there is less room for unhappiness. In the two marriages that seem successful to the reader (Darcy and Elizabeth and Bingley and Jane), each marital union is first and foremost based on the love and values shared between two people. Societal values or norms, while a contradictory force, becomes secondary to individual choice, which is itself a value that is preserved. In the other three marriages that were mentioned, none of the couples married for love or for a logical reason. Instead, these other marriages are the results of the individuals of these marriages listening to society telling them to marry for good looks or financial stability. As a result, these individuals are left unhappy for the remainder of their lives.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice